Stayed box covering and method of producing the same



May 26, 1925.

1,539,243 M. B, CLAFF STAYED BOX COVERING AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THESAME Filed Jan. 1

: Q b I b lbvenzor MRKEAZAFF b '2 y a k k w Azzy May 26, 1925'.1,539,243

M. B. CLAFF- STAYED BOX COVERING AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAMEPatented May 26, 1925.

MARK B. CLAFF, OF RANDOLPH, MASSACHUSETTS.

STAYED BOX COVERING AND METHOD OF IPRODUCING THE SAME,

Application filed January 22, 1923. Serial No. 614,085.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MARK B. CLAFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Randolph, county of Norfolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stayed BoxCoverings and Methods of Producing the Same, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the art of cover-- ing boxes with paper, andparticularly to a stayed or reinforced paper box covering and the methodof and apparatus for pro ducing such a covering and the resultant box orcover.

Various forms of stayed paper box coverings have been devised andseveral methods for producing said blanks are in use, but so far as I amaware such previous blanks, boxes and methods have all been open tocertain objections which my present invention seeks to overcome.

One characteristic objection to existing paper box coverings has arisenfrom the difficulty in applying the stay strips to the covering blank.Heretofore the covering blanks and stay strips have usually beenseparately out and then glued to each other. This method involvesseveral distinct cutting operations or handling, including that ofnotching the stay strips at the points where the covering blank foldsabout the corners of the box, and not only slows down production butintroduces a factor of uncertainty in respect to the application of thestay strips to the blank. Moreover, the stay strips are located acrossthe transverse lines of fold of the covering blank and are exposed toview when the blank is folded about the box.

According to my invention the paper covering blank is stayed along itslongitudinal edges by a pair of relatively tough stay strips, preferablyof heavy kraft paper, which are adhesively affixed to the blank duringthe formation of the blank itself. These strips are placed just outsideof that area of the blank which covers the body portion of the box andterminate short of the longitudinal margins of the box and are turnedover the corners of the box when the longitudinal flaps of the blank areoverfolded. Inasmuch as said strips do not exblanks are cut.

tend quite to the margins of the covering blank, they will therefore becompletely congealedby the blank when folded about the its contemplatedherein,'the paper from which the covering blanks are formed is'fed as acontinuous strip which is slit or notched at a plurality of points inits length to define the lines of cut-off for the blanks and toconstitute the end notches which lieat the corners of the box when theindividual blanks are severed from the strip and folded around the box.

Moreover, the stays arefed ascontinuous strips simultaneously withthe-feed of the strip from which the individual covering The stripspreferably are attached to the covering blank outside the line ofslitting or notching so that they are uninterrupted and unweakenedduring feeding. They are severed by the same knife which cuts the stripsinto individual blanks. This insures that the strips will be of the samelength as the covering blanks and avoids the necessity of independentlysevering or handling of the stay strips.

I am able therefore not only to obtain increased speed of production bysimultaneously feeding and severing the covering blank and stay strips,but I also secure positive accuracy of placement of the stay stripsrelative to the individual covering blanks when slit or severed.Moreover, the simultaneous feed of both the blank strip and the staystrips enables said strips to be adhesively coated as they are drawnfrom the supply rolls, thus insuring that they will be adequately coatedwith adhesive. Furthermore, at the moment of cut-off from the strip theblanks are in posit-ion to receive the box and may therefore be appliedwhile the glue is fresh. This avoids the necessity for extra handling ofthe covering blanks and does not give the blanks a chance .to dry andbecome curled.

As illustrative of my invention, I have shown in the accompanyingdrawings a novel stayed paper box covering blank and method of producingthe same, and also a new box structure produced by my method andcharacterized by certain features which add'materially to its strengthand perfection of form. Throughout the specification and drawings likereference characters are correspondingly applied, and in the draw- 1ngs:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration of equipment for thepractice of my invention. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the cover strip and stay strip united and readyto be sevcred adjacent the box.

Fig. 4 is an inverted view showing a severed blank in its feed relationto a partly covered box and Fig. 5 a plan view of the stayed and severedstrip.

Referring first to Figs. 4 and 5, the box to be covered is indicated atB and the body portion 1 of the paper covering blank C is shaped to.correspond to the size and shape of the top and bottom panels of thebox, and has end flaps 2 and side flaps 3 which are adapted to be turnedover the end and side walls of the box as indicated at the right in Fig.4.

The stay strips S are applied longitudinally of the longitudinal edgesof the covering blank at a point just beyond the limits of the bodyportion 1 of the blank and terminate short of the edge of said blank oneach side. Said strips are as long as the blank itself and are foldedacross the end walls of the box when the side flaps 3 of the blank aretucked in, and thus are completely concealed by the end flaps 2 of theblank when said flaps are folded upwardly against the end walls of thebox. This results in a strong and permanent reinforcement at all fourcorners of the box.

The blank C is slitted or notched at its corners to form a mitre asindicated at 4, the out just missing the underlying stay strips S,whereby the stayed blank may be fitted about the corners of the boxwithout weakening the stay strips. The slit 4 adj a cent the corner ofthe blank is in reality half of an angular slit made by the blade 8 inthe cover strip as it is drawn along. Heretofore such blanks haveusually been died out with a triangular shaped opening for a similarpurpose. In accordance with my invention, however, by making this cut aslit rather than an opening I am able to get greater strength as stockleft by the knife cut may be brought around the corners of the box asshown in the partly formed box in Fig. 4. I prefer this knife cut forthis reason, but obviously the blanks may be mitred in the usual mannerif de- -sired.

spindle with the supply roll 6 are a pair of supply rolls 7 for the websof paper, muslin,

or other suitable reinforcing material from a which the stay strips Sare drawn. The stay strips S are so guided by the clips Gr relative tothe blank strip for the covering blank strip C as to; position the staystrips longitudinal of the blank strip and slightly inset from the edgesthereof.

The strips C and S are simultaneously drawn from their supply rolls bysuitable feed rolls F. The strip C is up to or slightly including thestrip S simultaneously slit or died out at definite points by an angleblade 8 and plate 9 between which the strips feed. The angular slitsproduced by said knives define the longitudinal extent of the individualcovering blanks.

From the knife 8 the strips 0 and S are drawn over a glue drum 10operating in a glue pan 11 whereby all strips are adhesively coated.After passing the glue drum the cover strip is carried upwardly over atension roll 12 while the stay strips are guided to its margins asdescribed. The united strips now pass the feed rolls F to a cut-offknife 13 which severs the strips G and S centrally across the angle ofthe slits formed therein. The individual blanks with their reinforcingstrips accurately measured and united thereto are then ready for andadjacent to the forming block 14 for application to a box blank B whichhas been put on the block 14 by the operative. The block 14 supports thebox blank B in longitudinal alignment with the strip; that is to say,with the longer dimensions of the box or cover longitudinally of thestrip, and the shorter dimensions or ends tranversely of the strip. Thisgives maximum reinforcement along the major length of the box and thegreatest possible reinforcement across the shorter end of the box overwhich the strips are folded.

Various modifications in the construction and operation of my device mayobviously be resorted to all without departing from the spirit of myinvention if within the limits of the appended claims.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Themethod of forming a box covering consisting in continuously forming ablank by drawing off a covering sheet, in continuously attaching to themargins thereof a longitudinal reinforcing strip, and in successivelymaking paired angled cuts each twice thelength of the mitre cut of theunitary blank, and each pair spaced from the cut pair next preceding sothat the angle centers are a full blank length apart and in severingeach blank across the line of the angle centers.

2. The method of forming a covered box consisting in continuouslyforming a combined blank by simultaneously drawing ofl and embodying acovering sheet and longitudinal stay strips, and in applying the same toa formed box blank and in end folding and tucking in the same.

3. A web assembly for covering and staying a box shell, consisting of acontinuous web of covering material slitted adjacent its margins andsevered across said slits to provide covering blanks each having sideflaps and corner flaps attached to the ends of the side flaps, and twocontinuous webs of stay material adhesively united to said covering webmarginally thereof and disposed as attached stay strips coextensive inlength with the side and corner flaps of the covering blank when theblank is severed from the covering Web.

4. A web assembly for covering and staying a box shell, consisting of acontinuous web of covering material mitre-cut adjacent its margins andsevered across said mitrecuts to provide covering blanks each havingside flaps and corner flaps attached to the ends of the side flaps, andtwo continuous webs of stay material adhesively united to said coveringweb outside of the mitre-cuts of the web and disposed as attached staystrips co-extensive in length with the side and corner flaps of thecovering blank when the blank is severed from the covering web.

5. The method of forming a stayed covering blank having side flaps andcorner flaps attached to the ends of the side flaps which consists insimultaneously drawing oil a covering sheet and a pair of longitudinalstay strips, in adhesively attaching said strips along the longitudinaledges of said covering sheet, and in simultaneously severing said sheetand strips to provide covering blanks with attached stay stripscoextensive in length with the side and corner flaps of the severedblanks.

6. The method of mitre-cutting and staying a covering blank having sideflaps and corner flaps attached to the ends of the side flaps, whichconsists in simultaneously drawing off a covering sheet and a pair ofmarginal stay strips, in successively making in said sheet adjacent themargins thereof opposed pairs of mitre-cuts, each pair being spacedapart a distance of one blank length from the pair immediately precedingit, in adhesively attaching said strips along the longitudinal edges ofsaid covering sheet, and in simultaneously severing said sheet andstrips across the line of said mitre cuts to provide vcovering blankswith attached stay strips coextensive in length with the side and cornerflaps of the severed blank.

7. The method of mitre-cutting and staying a covering blank having sideflaps and corner flaps attached to the ends or said side flaps, whichconsists in simultaneously drawing off and adhesively attaching to eachother a continuous covering sheet and a pair of marginal stay strips, insuccessively making in said sheet adjacent the margins there of pairs ofoppositely disposed angle cuts, each angle out being twice the length ofthe mitre-cut of the unitary blank When said blank is severed from thesheet, and each opposite pair of cuts being spaced apart a distance ofone blank length "from the pair of cuts immediately preceding it, and insuccessively severing the sheet across the line of the angle centers ofeach pair of cuts to provide individual blanks in which the mitre-cutsat the ends of the blank are constituted by the halves of the oppositelydisposed pairs of angle cuts, and in which the attached stay strips arecoextensive in length with the side and corner flaps of the severedblank.

8. The method of mitre-cutting and severing covering blanks for boxshells from a continuously fed covering sheet, which consists insuccessively making in said sheet adjacent the margins thereof pairs ofoppositely disposed angle cuts, the apices of each opposite pair of cutsbeing spaced apart a distance of one blank length from the apices of thepair of cuts immediately preceding it, and in successively severing thesheet across the apices of each pair of cuts to provide individualblanks in which the mitre-cuts at the ends of the blank are constitutedby the halves of the oppositely disposed pairs of angle cuts.

9. The method oi mitre-cutting and severing the covering blanks for boxshells from a continuously fed covering sheet, which consists insuccessively making in said sheet adjacent the margins thereof pairs ofoppositely disposed angle cuts, each angle out being twice the length ofthe mitre cut of the unitary blank when said blank is severed from thesheet, and the apices of each opposite pair of cuts being spaced apart adistance of one blank length from the apices of the pair of cutsimmediately preceding it, and in successively severing the sheet acrossthe apices of each pair of cuts to provide individual blanks in whichthe mitre cuts at the ends of the blank are constituted by the halves ofthe oppositely disposed pairs of angle cuts.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARK B. CLAFF.

Vitnesses:

ALICE E. McENTEn, CARL A. MOELLER.

